MYCallsign – the Malaysian Amateur Radio Callsign Query Mobile Application has been updated, now it comes with a new spiffy logo. The mobile application can be installed on most Nokia, Sony-Ericsson, Motorola and Samsung phones. The application can be used to display information regarding an amateur radio callsign, such as handle (fullname), apparatus assignment (AA) and AA expiry date, and it is handy for recording QSO information in the logbook.

The application is licensed under the GNU General Public License 2.0 and is available for download at MYCallsign GoogleCode website

In a shocking news that I read today, Jimi Heselden, the owner of Segway PT died in an accident when he fall off the cliff while riding a Segway. Jimi Heselden was a British millionaire chairman of Hesco Bastion and was estimated worth around £166million at the time of his death.

This accident would come as a surprise because Segway PT has just recently been sold to Jimi Heselden earlier this year (2010). This would not seems to bode well for the company as Segway profitability itself was in question since it was launched in 2001.

Foxhole radio receiver or Crystal receiver is a form of radio that does not operate on local oscillator, which makes it hard to be detected by other electronic device. One of the most interesting thing of Foxhole radio is that it could be operated without the use of batteries, as it is powered solely by the radio waves through its long wire antenna.

Foxhole radio was (supposedly) popular during World War II because it enabled the GI to receive radio broadcast in the middle of the war, particularly in France as the Germans has outlawed the use of radio by civilians, thus the American GI need to build their own receiver to receive broadcasts. Typical component of foxhole radio during those days are : a period razor blade (not the newer galvanized one), carbon (obtained from pencil) and some copper wire with woodblock or cardboard as its base.

I’ve found a video on Youtube on how to build a Foxhole receiver, it still requires considerable skills and experience to build a working version of the receiver though.

I encounter this funny meaning of disbarred from a local newspaper site (http://thestar.com.my/) concerning two lawyer brothers were disbarred from practice because of dishonest conduct. What bug me is, I’m usually accustom with the word ‘barred’ to mean ‘prevented’, ‘not allowed’ and disbarred should mean the opposite like : “Yay, they accepted my appeal, I’m finally disbarred!!” lol. Okay, to be frank a friend of mind did told me in law terms, ‘disbarred’ means the expulsion/removal from the Bar Council.

I always wondered how Lady Gaga looked like without the make-up, rumors from the internet (according to her roomate) said she was a plain looking girl during her university days. Today, I found a video of Lady Gaga taken before she become famous, under her real name Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta.

Personally, I like Lady Gaga when she was Stefani more than now. But, it’s probably her current persona that made her famous now, cheers!

Take a look at this video shot on 3rd September 2010, where we can see that 9W2DI has managed to get contact from Macau, China on (28.495 MHz) 10 meter band! Apparently the 10 meter band is not dead like most people used to say. 9W2DI (Pak Din) is QRP hamradio enthusiast, you can see all his QRP video from his YouTube channel